Class Dates: January 8 - March 5, 2013

The registration is closed. The registration deadline was Thursday, January 3, 2013.

Riparian Systems: Ecology, Function and Management focuses on the complexity and dynamic nature of the riparian zone. Concepts to be covered include hydrology, geomorphology, biophysical properties, disturbance and management of these unique ecological systems. Special emphasis will be given to the importance of riparian areas under different land uses (e.g., agriculture, forest, urban) to manage water quality, erosion, sedimentation, and terrestrial and aquatic habitats. The course is a non-credit course taught online using distance education technologies. All lectures are recorded and posted to the class website to be viewed at a later time if you are not able to take part in the live lecture. Quizzes will be due by the Monday following the next class (or 12 days later). There are no minimum requirements needed to register for this course. Students who complete all eight quizzes can request a certificate of completion for this course.

CEUs: Full participants in the course, who are certified, will automatically receive CEUs. CCAs and CPAgs will receive a total of 12.0 CEUs in Soil and Water Management. CPSS and CPSC certificants will receive 12.0 CEUs in Professional Meetings. Lecture quizzes must be passed in order to receive the CEUs for this course.

Course Description:

Riparian Systems: Ecology, Function and Management

This online course meets weekly for 8 weeks and will focus on the complexity and dynamic nature of the riparian zone. Concepts to be covered include hydrology, geomorphology, biophysical properties, disturbance and management of these unique ecological systems. Special emphasis will be given to the importance of riparian areas under different land uses (e.g., agriculture, forest, urban) to manage water quality, erosion, sedimentation, and terrestrial and aquatic habitats.

This course is taught via distance learning, and the instructor will supplement lecture readings and materials with additional readings and examples to illustrate the concepts and provide examples of how the concepts are used in practice.

Instructor Bio:The primary instructor for this course will be Dr. Dawn Ferris. Additional instructors may be added periodically.

Dr. Dawn Ferris joined the SSSA staff in July 2010 as the Soil Science Program Coordinator. Most recently she was faculty at The Ohio State University in the School of Environment and Natural Resources (SENR) where much of her research was located in Iceland studying successional landscapes, restoration and soil carbon. She still maintains an adjunct faculty position within SENR. Prior to her position at OSU, Dr. Ferris spent the majority of her career in environmental consulting and, for a shorter time, in county government. During her career she has, among other things, owned her own consulting business, managed the MN office of Tetra Tech, and traveled across the U.S. as part of her work. She has a B.S. in soil science from the University of Wisconsin, a M.S. in soil physics and a PhD in Forest Hydrology from the University of Minnesota. Dr. Ferris is both a licensed and certified soil scientist and has worked on issues surrounding the implementation of these programs since the early 1990s; Dr. Ferris has been involved with the Council of Soil Science Examiners since its inception and was the chair for several years. She also held a Governor appointed position as the Soil Science Board Member on the MN Board of Architecture, Engineering, Land Surveying, Landscape Architecture, Geoscience and Interior Design.

Briefly, some of the primary objectives of Dr. Ferris’s position with SSSA include overseeing the soil science licensing and certification programs for SSSA (including legislative issues), facilitating continuing education for soil scientists, and to overall help to grow the soil science profession by working with and facilitating communication between the private sector, government and academia.

Refund Policy
Participants may request a refund of their registration fee according to the following schedule:
Notification prior to the orientation date: Registration fee minus a $50.00 cancellation fee.
Notification after the first class: Registration fee minus a $100.00 cancellation fee.
Notification after the second class: Registration fee minus a $150.00 cancellation fee.
Notification after the third class: Non-refundable registration fee.

As the information to access the seminar will be sent to you, you must have an email on file with us. If you are unsure if we have an email for you, check your profile at https://www.soils.org/account/ or https://www.agronomy.org/account/ - note that a login with email is required to access this information. The seminar will be conducted online. However, participants may dial-in via their phone line (at their cost - the dial-in number will not be an 800 number). All participants will need internet access and your computer must be equipped with a soundcard and internal or external speakers. For those attendees wishing to access the seminar via phone only, you will still need to login prior to the seminar to access the dial-in number.

The Soil Science Society of America offers the information on this web site for educational purposes only, to those registered for the Riparian Systems: Ecology, Function or Management course. It is not to be copied, forwarded orshared in any way with anyone, unless approved by the Soil Science Society of America, Inc.

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